Wasting your time with things I find interesting, amusing, or enraging. Reinke does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations

INSPIRATIONAL: Changing the Game

On April 26, 2014 I had the honor of presenting a talk at TEDx Bend Oregon entitled “Changing the Game in Youth Sports.” The power of the TED platform, and its international recognition as a brand that brings “ideas worth sharing” to the forefront of conversation, was such an incredible platform to be able to present the 14 minute version of the Changing the Game Project mission.

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Suggest this should be required watching to “license” adults to watch youth sports.

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Reminds me of an Evy story.

I had thought I’d reported this one, but I can NOT find it. If you know where I did write it up, please let me know where, compare the recitations, and see if my memory is failing.

Don’t remember when. It might have been when she had her 28-1 “dream team”.

I remember her perennial instructions to Tom, the assistant coach and ex-Marine, and me, as the ball boy, “Don’t yell at the girls. Tell them what they did right. Tell them how to do it right. But unless they specifically ask you want they did wrong, don’t tell them that they did it wrong. They will then focus on not getting yelled at instead of having fun.”

Anyone, who knew Ev, knows you disregarded her instructions at your own peril. Especially about her beloved basketball.

So I recollect “we” were playing and one of our “star guards” was having a bad day. As I remember it was a close game. It might have been against Doug of Saint Matthias, who believed he could out-coach any mere woman.

So the Dad of the “star guard” was “coaching” her from the spectator’s side. Loud enough for folks in the next county to here. And, it wasn’t Ev’s style of “positive encouragement”.

So, when her Irish patience ran out, which as I recollect lasted until the THIRD quarter — never lasted that long with me, she called time out. Turned to Tom and said: “Please take the huddle and tell some jokes to loosen them up.” She walked across the court DIRECTLY to the Dad.

(As her husband, I could see the “smoke” coming from her ears.)

She went to the Dad and whispered in his ear till the ref blew his whistle.

(It seemed like a very long time out. I think the ref was waiting for her to finish. That Dad had some non-positive comments for the ref and his ability. I know I wouldn’t have interrupted her. The refs all liked her because she rarely gave them <synonym for excrement>!)

She walked back across and said to the girls: “OK, now let’s focus, and have some fun. Saint Augustine … (the school’s name) …” to which the girls all finished “… pray for us.”.

The game went on. I remember “we” won going away.

Oh the Dad? Never heard a peep from him for the REST OF THE SEASON.

A week or so later, at a KofC meeting, one of the other Dad’s came over to me and said: “I didn’t know you married a Marine Drill Sargent?” I said: “Huh?” While he could NOT hear every word, the ones he repeated were mildly surprising.

The line that I loved was: “When she is on THAT court, she MY player; NOT YOUR daughter. Don’t you %^&*@ dare speak to my PLAYER that way EVER again.”

That was Our Girl. Very Lady-like. Until the pot boiled.

Funny, all the other Dads got the message.

No one wanted to be “called out” like that.

Like the @tswift13 song, she was “FEARLESS”!

Especially where “her girls” were concerned.

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